Ace Combat: Angel Wings Chronicles - Old Scars
by MWSeraph
Summary: [Part 3 of the Angel Wings Chronicles] Seraph and Phoenix make it to Istas Fortress, only to witness its fall to the Erusean war machine. As they fight to make their way back to their home carrier, an old enemy from Phoenix's past makes his vengeful return.


**Ace Combat: Angel Wings Chronicles**

 **Old Scars**

 **Sept. 17, 2003**

 **Disclaimer:** **I do not own the Ace Combat series or its canon characters, which are a properties of Namco. Seraph and Cherub are my OCs.**

* * *

 **Istas Fortress, Southern Usea, 1602 Hours**

The two Scarface Squadron remnants raced across the skies above the tropical rainforests. With Phoenix in his F-18E and Seraph and Cherub in the F-14D, their objective was to return to their carrier, having been forced to cede the city of Los Canas to the Erusian forces. If they were going to make the journey, their first stop was to be ISAF's Istas Fortress to refuel and resupply. However, the contrails from the seven shells fired by Stonehenge indicated that this was hardly going to be a leisurely task.

"Our defenses are like cheap dominoes," Seraph was exasperated, "how can the Erusians penetrate this far east already!?"

"I'm unable to contact Fortress Command," Cherub said as he was adjusting the radio frequency, "I'm not getting any response on any of the channels!

Phoenix's eyes narrowed. If Istas was captured, there was no hope of getting back to the _White Valley_. As they got closer, it became evident that a battle was going on, as ISAF and Erusian fighter jets duked it out at lower altitudes, with the fighter bombers and attack helicopters bombarding the fortress defense emplacements with bombs and rockets. 'Please let there still be a runway,' he thought as he scanned the area for the base's landing strip.

"Approaching ISAF aircraft on bearing 135, do you copy? This is Scion Air Base."

Phoenix sighed in relief. At least there were still ISAF personnel holding out in the fortress. "This is Scarface Squadron on vector 135, Scarface 1. I need a sitrep."

"Scarface 1," the control tower dispatch sounded off, "we've got multiple attack helicopters on approach towards the base. We'll need you to clear the skies of them before you can attempt to land."

"Roger that," Phoenix agreed, "keep your heads down. It's gonna get loud for a bit." He then addressed his adjutant, "Seraph, how are you on the round count?"

"About one hundred and fifty remaining, lead," Seraph reported.

"Good enough." Both planes accelerated towards the fortress' air base. True enough, there were Mi-24s closing in on Scion Air Base. Phoenix armed his cannon, smirking at the fact that the helicopters were flying in a clustered formation; there was no way to miss. The two Scarface fighters rapidly closed the distance and fired their guns. The tracers easily ripped through the attack helicopters' fuselages and rotors, causing them to explode and crash onto the mountain below.

"Enemy attack choppers sent to the bottom," Phoenix reported.

"Affirmative," Scion control confirmed, "Scarface Squadron, you are cleared to land for a hot resupply. Our AA weapons will cover for you."

"Roger that," Seraph said, "just don't shoot us by mistake!"

The two Scarface planes entered into their landing patterns, quickly managing to land safely despite the rather short runway and flak lighting up the skies to cover them. Phoenix and Seraph quickly taxied off onto the tarmac, where there were aircrews waiting for them with prearranged fuel trucks and trolleys carrying fresh ammo. "Right on cue..." Seraph muttered, rather impressed with the arrangements for him and Phoenix.

The ISAF personnel worked rather quickly and calmly, even as the Erusian fighter planes swarmed about the base, trying to bomb it. The AA vehicles clustered around the Super Hornet and Super Tomcat, firing their weapons at the enemy MiGs. Seraph felt his plane shake as some of the bombs hit other parts of the tarmac, damaging nearby hangars and other grounded aircraft.

"Come on, guys, work faster," Cherub chastised the crews. He was sweating at the thought of being bombed on the runway.

"Scarface, we've got enemy reinforcements incoming, and we don't have time to fill up and fit external tanks," the crew chief reported.

"Scarface Squadron," it was the control tower, "you must launch before we lose the runway!"

"What about you guys?" Seraph was concerned, seeing how the aerial battle around them was starting to deteriorate as the Erusians destroyed allied units in the air and on the ground.

"Your survival takes priority," the controller replied, "we're going to need heroes who'll come back to save Usea. Now taxi and gain altitude to escape!"

Seraph stared at the ground crew, who were just finishing up with his F-14. 'They're seriously willing to risk their lives for us,' he thought to himself. The crew quickly retracted their trolleys and trucks, and rendered salutes to the two Scarface planes. Realizing that this could very well be their sacrifice, Seraph reciprocated their salutes in solemnness.

"Let's go, Scarface 2!" Phoenix was already moving his F-18E ahead towards the runway. Seraph followed behind, with the mobile AA guns escorting them. The Erusian planes opened fire, striking a few of the guns, but unable to hit the two planes due to the tenacious cover fire. The ISAF gunners were determined to get Scarface up in the air at the cost of their lives. With only two vehicles remaining, the AA gunners' efforts paid off as the two planes were now on the intact runway.

"Scarface 1, taking off!"

"Scarface 2, taking off!"

The two pilots went full afterburner, barreling down the runway and rapidly rising into the air, with the MiGs narrowly missing with their cannons.

"Godspeed, Scarface," the control tower finished, "may you come back to Usea as our liberators."

Seraph looked back, and saw the MiG-29s drop their bombs onto the base, with one striking the control tower and destroying it. 'Those guys... they sacrificed their lives for us..."

However, it didn't take long for the Erusian Air Force to start targeting the Scarface aircraft, as Seraph's missile alert buzzed almost instantaneously. Seraph immediately took evasive action as several MiGs started coming after him. Phoenix fared slightly better as he counterattacked with every opening he had, managing to shoot down quite a few of the Erusians.

"We've got something from our long-range radar station," an allied ISAF pilot announced, "incoming from Stonehenge! ETA twenty seconds!"

Seraph's blood chilled again, still not forgetting the trauma of the previous Stonehenge attack a few hours ago. However, Phoenix knew what to do next. "Stay below the mountain peaks, Seraph," he ordered, "the terrain shielding will protect us from the shockwaves!"

The F-14D pilot was nervous, but paid heed nonetheless. He found more Erusian helicopters hugging the mountainsides of Istas Fortress. They attempted to lock onto his jet, but he was fast and maneuverable to make a mess of their targeting.

"Ten seconds to impact..." Phoenix counted down from his HUD readings, "five... four... three... two... one... impact!"

Seraph felt his aircraft shake again as seven shockwaves exploded in the airspace above the fortress. The ISAF pilots not astute enough to drop their altitude were sent crashing with their aircraft in flames.

"We've lost several of our wingmen in that last attack!"

"Our air defenses have deteriorated to forty percent!"

"Enemy infantry units have breached the fortress interior. Several sections are non-responsive!"

"Attention all allied units," an emergency message came through the coms, "this is Istas Central Command. We are ordering an evacuation of all personnel. We have orders to give up Istas Fortress!"

Seraph then saw a mission update flash in his HUD, as new target information was fed to his radar. Cherub also processed the new information on his panel. "They're going to escape out to sea with the submarines..." True enough, the submarine docks were designated as priority targets to defend.

"We can't let the Erusians cut off their escape," Phoenix said, "Seraph, destroy any attacker aircraft targeting the docks and submarine pen.

"Roger that," Seraph acknowledged as new priority targets were designated on radar.

"We've got multiple hostile A-10s closing in on the docks," Cherub reported, "Seraph, we've got to intercept these guys before they sink our subs."

"Hold on tight back there," Seraph said as he increased thrust to attack speed, "we'll corner them in these canyons and strike from behind." He followed a flight of two around one of the mountains, and easily catching up to them, placed his gun reticle on one of the A-10s' engines.

"Right up the pipe," Seraph quipped as he fired a long burst from his cannon. The 20mm shells ripped into the large engine and blew it up, causing the A-10 to spin and crash into a mountainside. The other A-10 attempted evasive maneuvers, but Seraph easily oriented his nose towards the hostile and sent him crashing by taking out his engines.

"More A-10s and fighter escorts detected," Cherub informed, "engage them before they get too close, pal."

It was then that Phoenix buzzed Seraph. "Radar station's picked up more rounds from Stonehenge," he warned, "stay inside the canyon, and don't crash on me."

"Roger that, lead," Seraph affirmed. True enough, the aircraft rocked again as the rounds exploded above the mountains. 'I'm really starting to hate that railgun system...'

Seraph flew his F-14 towards the enemy formation, where two F-15s were running escort for four A-10s. The F-15s fired their missiles at Seraph, which he evaded rather easily as he zipped past. Phoenix then swooped in from behind and fired a Sidewinder, destroying one of the F-15s. The second Erusian fighter pulled up to try and escape the pursuing Scarface 1. Taking advantage of the opening, Seraph turned his F-14 around and locked onto the two leading A-10s. With a smirk, Seraph let loose two of his Phoenix AAMs, which quickly streaked towards their targets, shredding the two leading aircraft with shrapnel and exploding, also taking out the A-10s on the flanks.

"Sweet! That's four birds for two stones, Seraph," Cherub complimented.

Seraph, Phoenix, and the other ISAF remnant planes continued to fight off the Erusians, even as Stonehenge and the enemy planes continued to shoot down several allied planes. However, their efforts paid off as the ISAF submarines were seen departing and submerging into the depths of the large waterways. "Allied planes, this is the submarine _Alpha-1_ , we've successfully departed from port. Thanks for the air cover!"

It was then that Seraph had another mission update flash on his screen; it was a final order from the former fortress command to withdraw due east or south of the battle zone. It was clear that ISAF was giving up Istas Fotress.

"Seraph, I'm picking up enemy reinforcements coming from the west," Cherub advised, "I think we'd better blow this joint before they blow us out of the sky."

Seraph looked towards the west, and saw the massive formation of enemy fighter jets headed towards the fortress. He then glanced over to his flight leader, and then the remaining few ISAF fighters that complied and started to pull away from the combat airspace. Taking one last glance at the enemy, Seraph turned alongside Phoenix. Both fighters went full afterburner, resuming their journey south towards the ocean.

'This isn't over Erusea...' Seraph thought to himself, contemplating on hopes of returning to liberate the continent.

* * *

 **Coast of Southern Usea, 1812 Hours**

Scarface Team had managed to fly as far as their fuel allowed their afterburners, and were already over the southern coast of Usea. During this time, Phoenix was able to re-establish radio contact with the aircraft carrier _White Valley_ and arrange for a rendezvous with one of their refueling planes for the final leg of the journey. As such, by the time Seraph and Phoenix flew over the coast, an S-3 Viking with dual refueling probes was waiting for them.

"Seraph, you go first. I'll cover for you," Phoenix prompted.

"Copy that," Seraph accepted. He then lightly pushed the throttle forward for a gentle acceleration towards the S-3.

"Scarface 2, check your plane and prepare for refueling," the S-3 pilot radioed.

"Extending refueling probe," Cherub said as Seraph activated the said device, which jutted out from the right side of the F-14's nose.

"Scarface 2 on approach," Seraph announced as his F-14D got closer towards one of the baskets hanging off the tanker. Upon closing the distance, the ISAF fighter pilot gently used his tabs, flaps, and throttle to fine-tune his plane's vector, then connected with the refueling basket with a click.

"Excellent, Scarface 2. Commence refueling."

As fuel flowed through the probe into the Tomcat's tanks, Cherub then began to hum the Scarface Squadron tune. After the non-stop fighting and escapes, Seraph's WSO could really use a break. Seraph, while he didn't hum along, smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. Not too long after, the F-14D was fully refueled.

"Refueling complete," Seraph acknowledged, "separating from tanker." He banked right away from the aircraft as Phoenix made his approach. With fine tuned piloting, Phoenix was able to quickly yet carefully make contact. This impressed Seraph quite a bit.

"Perfect, Scarface 1. Commence refueling."

Phoenix held steady as the tanker started to refuel his aircraft. However, about three minutes into the process, a warning tone sounded in his cockpit as the radar flashed with a new contact. Seraph likewise detected the bogey.

"Scarface 1, unidentified contact from eight o'clock high," Seraph warned, "he's coming in really fast!"

The Usean veteran looked at his rear view mirror, and saw a brown camouflaged Typhoon approaching. His eyes widened as the pattern became apparent. 'It can't be...' He then turned to the S-3 in front of him. "Tanker, cease fueling! Evasive maneuvers!"

"The bogey's locking on," Seraph shouted as he rolled away, "lead, get out of there!" True enough, the Typhoon fired a long range missile, which streaked towards Phoenix and the tanker. Cussing under his breath, the Scarface leader disengaged his refueling probe, causing some fuel to spew to the right of his canopy and dove down away from the Viking. The missile locked onto the Viking's radar signature and detonated, destroying the tanker in a massive fireball of extra fuel. Phoenix's Super Hornet was slightly singed from the flames, but was otherwise undamaged.

"Scumbag!" Seraph turned towards the hostile, incensed at what just took place. He selected his two remaining Phoenix missiles and set them to home on target.

"Confirming the bogey to be Erusian Air Force," Cherub told his pilot, "let him have it, Seraph!" The F-14 pilot only needed to be told once as he unleashed the two missiles on the brown Typhoon. However, the enemy pilot aggressively rolled his plane, easily beating the missiles' tracking abilities and shooting past the F-14. Seraph looked to see that the lone enemy was heading towards Phoenix, who was just recovering from his dive.

"Scarface 1, he's still on you! Evade, evade!" The young pilot turned around as fast as he could, now desperate to defend his mentor.

Phoenix saw the enemy Typhoon vector towards him, and accelerated downwards to gain some velocity and energy. The Typhoon continued to follow him, firing tracers from its 27mm cannon to try and graze him. 'Just one fighter,' he thought, 'they can't possibly be that brazen, unless...' Phoenix leveled his F-18E, and just as the Typhoon got close, he sharply turned the F-18 on its tail, managing to pull off a Pugachev's Cobra. The Typhoon shot by his port side, and out from his canopy, Phoenix just had time to glance at the aircraft's tail emblem. There was a clawed bear on the inside of the emblem, bearing its teeth at a would-be victim.

"Just as I thought," Phoenix thought aloud as he recognized the emblem. He then hit his thrusters and took off in pursuit of the lone enemy fighter, which began rolling and zig zagging very aggressively to shake off his ISAF pursuer. Phoenix switched to his AIM-9X QAAMs and tracked the Typhoon into its turn. Seeing a chance, Phoenix fired two of the quick-maneuver missiles, which streaked towards the front of the aircraft. Unfortunately, the Erusian pilot pulled a tighter turn, causing the missiles and Phoenix to overshoot. "Darn..." Phoenix grunted as the Typhoon was behind him again.

"We meet again, Firebird," a gruff and menacing voice came over the radio, "I knew you just couldn't resist trying to be the wannabe hero again."

Seraph was taken off guard by this. "What the... who is this!?" Phoenix narrowed his glare in recognition.

"So you're still alive... Sergei Brynner!"

Seraph's blood ran cold at the mention of Sergei Brynner, the leader of the Usean Rebel unit, the Beast Squadron. Phoenix had told him and Cherub about the tenacity and vicious nature of the man who wanted him dead more than any other ace he beat. Now, the Beast Leader had apparently cast his lot for Erusea to fight against Phoenix again.

"I see that you haven't forgotten me, Flamo," Sergei replied, "you and I have an unfinished score to settle!" He opened fire with his cannon again. The ISAF ace rolled left to evade.

"You haven't changed one bit, Sergei," Phoenix shot back at his nemesis, "you're still the same post-Belkan War cutthroat as always." He drove his F-18E into a steep high speed climb, with Sergei's Typhoon still in pursuit. Seeing that he was some respectable distance from Sergei, Phoenix cut the throttle and flipped his plane on his back. As he fell back down, Phoenix let his cannon rip. The rounds failed to hit, but they forced Sergei to evade, breaking his pursuit.

It was then that Seraph flew in hot after Sergei. "I don't know who the heck you think you are," his voice had some venom in it, "but you're going to pay for the guys in the tanker."

"Get him, Seraph," Cherub cheered on, "kick his hinny!" Seraph selected his Sidewinders, setting them to home on the enemy Typhoon.

"Fox Two!" The young Scarface fired one missile at the Typhoon's engines. However, Sergei did an aggressive loop while dispensing flares, causing the missile to miss. Seraph was undeterred and continued to press his attack.

"Get back, Seraph," Phoenix warned, as he joined the pursuit, " you're no match for him!"

"I'm not letting you duke this out alone," Seraph argued, "I'm Scarface 2, sir!" He then went to close the distance with Beast One.

"Ah... the new blood," Sergei demurred as Seraph locked onto him again. He pulled back on the throttle, breaking and nearly clipping Seraph's fins. The young ISAF pilot was startled, before Sergei opened up with his cannon.

"He's on our tail," Cherub panicked, "shake him!"

Seraph hit the afterburners and tried to outrun the Erusian ace. Sergei however, did not let up as he went for a missile lock. "Well kids... you're way out of your leagues to take me on!"

"He's gonna get a lock on us!" Cherub sweat himself wet as the radar alert tone steadily beeped.

Seraph made an attempt at a rolling dive, but that turned out to be a mistake as he bled energy. Sergei grinned evilly as he locked onto the F-14D. "Sayonara, kiddo!"

"No!" Phoenix came up from behind Sergei and fired another Sidewinder at him.

"Curses!" Sergei grunted as he dumped more flares and outturned the missile. He glared at the firebird emblem that adorned Phoenix's F-18. "I'm going to make a stuffed turkey out of you when I'm through!"

"Try me," Phoenix taunted. At that, Sergei charged at Phoenix, and the two left twisted contrails all over the skies as they tangled in an intense turning fight.

"Seraph," Cherub tried to reason with his friend, "maybe we should head back to the carrier and call for reinforcements."

"No time," Seraph brushed it off as he chased after his mentor and his nemesis. "Switching back to my cannon." He narrowed his gaze on the gun reticle as his target continued to brush with Scarface 1. If he wasn't careful, he could hit his leader. Cherub's teeth chattered, as he feared of his pilot screwing up.

"Got him!" A burst of tracers flew from the F-14's nose cannon, only for Sergei to bank hard. Seraph grunted as his bullets went wide. He continued to chase down Sergei, firing his cannon. The Beast of the Rebellion proved to be wild in his maneuvers, making it difficult for Scarface 2 to predict his patterns.

"That's it..." Seraph was frustrated as he switched to his remaining two Sidewinders. "Fox Two!" The third heatseeker slid off its rail after the Typhoon's signature. The enemy fighter ejected another flare, but the missile detonated closer, seemingly engulfing the plane in a fireball. Seraph edged his F-14 above the fireball, with the enemy fighter seemingly gone. "Did I get him?"

The missile alert then buzzed in the cockpit as radar showed an incoming missile from above. Seraph didn't have time to react fast enough...

"Seraph!" Phoenix's F-18E soared right above his wingman's F-14. The missile exploded, peppering Phoenix's aircraft instead. The Super Hornet fell as it sustained damage to one of its engines and control surfaces.

"Scarface 1!" Seraph watched in horror as his flight leader lost altitude, his aircraft smoking from the portside nacelle.

Beast Leader's Typhoon shot past Seraph, the man cackling loudly over the radio. "Ha ha," Sergei mocked, "I knew you couldn't resist being the shepherd over your sheep!" He angled his plane towards Phoenix's crippled aircraft. "Your Number 2 is just a boy in a flight suit!"

Seraph felt something snap in him. He clenched his teeth as the blood boiled in him, and his vision went red. "Brynner!" He slammed his throttle forward and turned hard towards the brown fighter. He fired his gun, cutting Brynner off from Phoenix, and chased after him.

Seraph was now chasing Brynner up the coast line, determined to make him pay for his dirty sneak attack. As Brynner increased speed, Seraph thrust the throttle over, with the G-forces pushing him back into his ejection seat.

"Whoa!" Cherub was floored at the F-14's velocity.

The two jets raced across the skies, and as Brynner attempted to outturn Seraph, the latter began to bank even more aggressively. Seraph could feel the G-forces from his twists, zigs and zags, but the adrenaline rush in his system kept his blood pumping. Cherub, on the other hand, felt like he was being tossed around in his seat. He was almost afraid that Seraph's maneuvers were going to tear a wing off the plane.

"Whoa, what's up with the sheep?" Brynner asked aloud, "has he become some sort of wolf!?" He rolled towards lower altitudes, as Seraph's F-14 started to gain on him.

"Brynner..." Seraph grunted as his missile lock-on reticle zeroed in on the Typhoon, "consider yourself..." The reticle landed on the Typhoon, giving a positive lock-on tone. "Done and dusted!" He fired his last missile.

Brynner sharply turned his nose up in a Pugachev's Cobra to have the missile overshoot. However, Seraph had quickened reflexes in his rush, and unleashed another burst from his cannon. This time, six rounds hit the fuselage of Sergei's aircraft, one of those rounds hitting a fuel line.

"What!?" Brynner exclaimed as Seraph shot around and started to come back towards him. Brynner barely avoided another strafing run as he went full afterburner to escape Seraph. Seeing that the Typhoon was leaking fuel pretty badly, he shot vengeful glares at both Phoenix and Seraph. "I'll be back, Scarface, and next time you won't be so lucky!" He changed his bearing to the west, accelerating to leave the combat zone.

"Seraph..." the F-14 WSO remarked in disbelief, "you did it... you drove him off..."

Seraph himself was breathless and not believing what happened during his adrenaline rush. However, his mind then turned to Phoenix. Glancing out his canopy, he caught sight of the smoking F-18. The portside engine looked pretty badly damaged. "Phoenix..." Seraph muttered as he flew towards his leader's aircraft.

Cherub radioed, "Scarface 1, you alright sir!?"

Phoenix was trying to get a feel for the controls, which now felt sticky after Sergei hit him. Furthermore, the control panel showed that the portside engine had internal damage to the turbines and combustion chamber. Worse even was that fuel lines to the engine were leaking. His tail fins were also badly shredded in areas. "I'm flying, but I'm losing power," Phoenix reported, "at best, I only have twenty minutes of flying time before I lose lift and crash."

Now Seraph was deeply concerned. If they did not return to the _White_ Valley, or get within safe operating distance of its rescue helicopters, Phoenix would be in for a long swim. Given how fast the Erusian Navy was advancing along the coasts of the continent, Seraph doubted that Phoenix would have time to wait if he crashed.

"Let's see..." Cherub then calculated the remaining flight time necessary to reach the carrier. "We've got the _White Valley_ about twenty nautical miles south of our whiskey. If we can fly just under Mach 1, we should be able to reach the carrier in fifteen minutes."

"You go on ahead..." Phoenix prompted Seraph, "I'm just going to slow you two down."

"Not an option, sir," Seraph refused, "we can't leave you here!"

"That's an order, Scarface 2," Phoenix shot back, "I'm not going to let you be dragged back on my account. Now return to base, and leave me!"

Seraph grunted in frustration. 'How am I going to help him like this?' He was Scarface 2, and the last thing he would do would be to willingly leave his flight leader behind. There had to be a way to help him. 'Wait a minute...' Seraph spied the arrested hook on Phoenix's F-18. It was then that a lightbulb went off. "I've got an idea," he informed, "lower your tail hook!"

"Seraph?" Cherub questioned him as though he had two heads.

"What are you talking about, 2?" Now Phoenix was wondering what had gotten into Seraph.

"I'm going to use the nose of my aircraft to push you along," Seraph explained, "we should get close enough to the carrier for you to either land or eject." This was a feat that he recalled happened to two Osean fighter planes operating over enemy territory.

"Seraph, are you nuts!?" Seraph ignored Cherub's complaints though.

"Are you sure about this?" Phoenix was incredulous.

"I'm Scarface 2, and I'm doing my darndest to get you home, lead," Seraph argued. A few seconds passed before Phoenix sighed and relented.

"Alright." Seraph positioned himself behind the wobbling aircraft as Phoenix extended his arrester hook. "I'm shutting down the portside engine," Phoenix said, "but still watch for my jet wash."

"Roger that." The F-14 slowly moved in behind the F-18. Both pilots could feel the aircraft shake audibly from the turbulence. Seraph grit his teeth as he focused on the arrester hook, making sure not to smash his canopy into it. He could almost hear the hook brush and scrape against the Tomcat's nose. It took about a minute of pushing and backing off before Seraph was able to finally get a steady position and push on the hook without it brushing near the canopy.

"I've got your tail, sir," Seraph reassured with a smile, "now let's get you home."

"Seraph... you crazy angel..." Phoenix muttered.

"Just doing what you told me from training," Seraph responded, "never leave your wingman behind." He then wasted no time making an emergency call to the _White Valley_ , telling them to prepare for Phoenix's emergency.

* * *

 **CUS _White Valley_** **, 1831 Hours**

"There she is!" Cherub was exhausted from tension, but happy to see the flashing lights of the aircraft carrier's flight deck. All throughout the remainder of the flight, he had to put up with the non-stop vibration from Seraph's F-14 having to push Phoenix's damaged F-18 home.

Seeing that they were in the home stretch, Seraph backed away from Phoenix's six.

"Seraph," Phoenix said as he looked over the red lights on his display, "I'm starting to lose power on the starboard engine. Control surfaces are becoming less and less responsive. You should go in and land first, just in case."

"What about you?" Seraph asked, concerned for his flight leader.

"If something goes wrong," Phoenix pointed out, "then you won't be able to land. Go and land, Seraph!"

The young F-14 pilot grunted, but knew that Phoenix had a point. He accelerated towards the carrier, and began the pre-landing checks for a carrier.

" _White Valley_ CIC, I'm on approach."

"Scarface 2, you are cleared to land."

With that, Seraph lowered the landing gear and pulled back on the throttle a little. Following the prompts of the landing system and CIC, Seraph was able to quickly but safely land, catching the second arrester cable and coming to a halt. Recovering from the jolt of landing on the carrier, Seraph steered the F-14 off the landing strip to the side. As per emergency protocol, the deck crew raised a crash net in anticipation for the smoking F-18. Seraph noticed that Phoenix's plane was wobbling even more as he struggled to maintain enough power to reach the deck. 'Come on, Phoenix,' Seraph thought as he watched Phoenix getting closer.

"You're coming in too fast, slow down, Scarface 1," CIC advised.

Seraph could hear the warning alarms as Phoenix yelled, "I can't control it! Everyone, get out of the way!"

The Super Hornet came in at a steep dip, causing the undercarriage to buckle under the stress. The aircraft jolted forward and to the right, causing the right wing to shear off and the nose to grind on the deck. It spun sideways to the right, and the aircraft's nose hit the right stanchion of the crash net. To Seraph's horror, the stanchion buckled from the impact, coming down onto the canopy and smashing through it.

"Phoenix!" Seraph yelled out. Cherub felt knots in his gut at what had just happened. The fire crews moved in as fires sprout up from the wrecked F-18, some carrying saws and other high-powered dismantling equipment to try and extricate the pilot from the cockpit. However, with how the stanchion tore through the metal side to where Phoenix was supposed to be seated, Seraph feared the worst for his flight leader.

* * *

 **Mission Debriefing**

 _Los Canas and Istas Fortress have fallen to Erusian forces. With this latest blow to our military forces, Erusea now occupies over two-thirds of Usea's total land territory, advancing on the remaining allied nations along the eastern coast._

 _Fortunately, the core leadership of GHQ and the Council have been safely extracted east from Los Canas, and are undergoing transit at an allied base for their flight to their final destination. The member state of North Point has volunteered to receive the ISAF leadership as the new location for the GHQ, which is ideal with their still-intact military and geographical isolation from the continent. As a result, GHQ has declared that North Point will serve as a rallying point for our scattered forces throughout Usea, in the event that an opportunity for a counterattack opens up._

 _Unfortunately, over the course of the mission, Scarface Squadron sustained heavy losses due to an enemy ambush upon their return to their home carrier. Scarface 1 has survived, but is now in critical condition from damages sustained to his aircraft during an emergency landing. He is currently being stabilized in the ICU, but it is unlikely that he will be able to return to active combat duty with the nature of his injuries._

 _Due to the shortage of qualified combat pilots, we are unable to find a suitable substitute to serve as the leader of Scarface. As of now, Scarface 2 will be placed on standby until we can determine the status and viability of Scarface Squadron in its current condition. In the meantime_ , _the_ White Valley _Carrier Battle Group_ _is ordered to avoid further engagements with enemy naval forces, and withdraw to Aurora Naval Base in North Point. Once the fleet is accounted for, Scarface 2 will receive further updates on his posting._

 _Dismissed._


End file.
